Michelle Wu leads Josh Kraft in race for Boston mayor, poll finds
Michelle Wu holds a double-digit lead over philanthropist Josh Kraft in the race for Boston mayor, a new poll from Emerson College finds.
The preliminary election to narrow the field down to two candidates is in September. The poll asked more than 600 registered voters who they would vote for if the election were held today.
Wu, the incumbent, had the support of 43% of voters polled. Kraft, the son of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the former CEO of the Boys and & Girls Club in Boston, was at 29%, the poll found.
Twenty-four percent of voters told pollsters they were undecided. Two percent said they were backing Jorge Mendoza Iturralde, a North End restaurant owner focused on bringing back outdoor dining to his neighborhood, and another 2% said they would support someone else.
Mayor Wu's approval rating in Boston
Wu's approval rating is at 41%, compared to 38% who disapprove, the poll found. She is most popular with voters under 30 years old and those over 70.
"Mayor Michelle Wu starts strong in the first pre-election poll of the year, with 57% of voters thinking the city is headed in the right direction, and 57% holding a favorable view of the mayor," Emerson College Polling executive director Spencer Kimball said in a statement. "Wu's support is strongest among Hispanic voters, at 54%, and Asian voters, at 58%, while Kraft splits the white vote with Wu 39% to 37%."
Poll asks about Boston bike lanes, immigration
The poll asked voters about the controversial expansion of bike lanes in Boston. Kraft told WBZ political analyst Jon Keller that he wants to put a pause on bike lane construction.
Forty-eight percent of voters said there were too many bike lanes in Boston, 35% think there are enough, and only 17% said there are too few, the poll found.
The poll also asked voters to weigh in on the Boston Trust Act, which forbids police from turning people over to federal authorities for immigration violations.
"Support for the city immigration policy varies by racial background: 65% of Hispanic voters approve of the Boston Trust Act, along with 57% of Asian and 55% of Black voters," Kimball said. "White voters are more split: 44% approve and 40% disapprove of the policy."
Wu is headed to Washington, D.C. next week to testify before Congress on Boston's sanctuary city status.